Competencies for Improving Construction Performance: theories and practice for developing capacity

The focus on improving construction performance has been narrow in many nations using partnering,leanness and supply chain management. This paper asks three practical construction related questionsconcerning reinventing the wheel across projects, blame culture and continuity of service. In addressingthese practical issues, three theories are engaged: organisational learning, emotional intelligence andrelationship management. The solutions are enhanced through applying the concepts and, indeed, thereis synergy between the concepts. The solutions require investment for the expected return, the theoreticalsynergy maximising the benefits from the investment. It is argued that such an approach has as much, ifnot more chance, to yield improvement in construction. The starting point are issues faced in constructionand theory is induced through addressing the problems, rather than starting with concepts applied inother sectors and then trying to squeeze them into the construction context

Procurement push and marketing pull in supply chain management: the conceptual contribution of relationship marketing as a driver in project financial performance

? The agenda for supply management practices on construction projects originated from clients. It is largely procurement driven, the dominant strategy of contractors being to emulate the client approach, and hence push the procurement model along the chain.? This procurement push along the supply chain translates the intrinsic client interest in value into a contractor interest in repeat business from the same client or through referral markets, the consequence being: (i) loss of interest in adding further value along the chain, (ii) continuous improvement prematurely reaches the law of diminishing returns through a primary cost reduction focus, (iii) supply chains may be rationalised in terms of the number of suppliers for each link in the chain, yet the procurement push increases chain length in order to squeeze the lowest costs possible, hence those doing the work at the bottom of the chain will not have the resources to add value nor necessarily be aware of the strategic principles at the top of the chain. ? Marketing is the other side of the same ?procurement coin?; relationship marketing (RM) soliciting a pull in the supply chain, potentially adding value for continuous improvement. ? Finally, the RM approach will be related to the theoretical and actual decoupling point for construction, with the potential to move the point towards the start of the chain, hence increasing the potential for agile manufacturing

The Moral Economy and Operationalising Trust

The objective of this paper is to make a conceptual contribution to the analysis of projects through an exploration of the moral economy and trust. The moral economy is defined and trust is then explored in relation to the moral concepts of dignity and respect. An evaluation is made of the importance of understanding the moral economy as an additional means to operationalise trust.The analysis will be placed in the context of the theoretical importance of the moral economy to the operation of the market and hence to management and economics, which poses a challenge to many of the ways in which management and economics are conceived

Identity and Significance in the Design Team

The paper examines the nature of personal identity individuals in the design team are perceived to have, derived from behavioural evidence provided by other members of the team. Personal identity is conceived to comprise of acceptance, security and significance. The evidence for this study comprises of behaviours related to personal significance. The levels of significance and the types of behavioural patterns are analysed for the design team as a whole and by professional role. Particular behaviours are analysed, conceptualised in terms of performance related behaviours, appearance related behaviours, blame based behaviour, shame based behaviour, humility based behaviours, and confidence related behaviours

The Moral Economy and Research on Projects: neglect and relevance to social capital and competencies

This paper makes a theoretical contribution to the understanding of management and of projects. The paper adopts an analysis of the moral economy, which poses a conceptual challenge to the way in which management generally, and specifically concerning projects, is understood. The paper also poses an indirect methodological challenge, particularly to positivism, empiricism and some interpretative analysis.Project management and the management of projects have tended to focus upon task and function respectively, which has relegated or excluded the role of morality in relationships in both research and practice. A similar position is adopted in economics with a focus upon closed systems. The combined result is an exclusion of the moral economy. This paper argues for a theoretical reappraisal of management generally, and specifically with regard to projects, to include the moral economy. The moral economy is not only foundational to the operation of the market economy, but also contributes to its performance.The conclusion summaries the main points and makes recommendations concerning theoretical development, methodology and practice

Io: Escape and ionization of atmospheric gases

The partitioning of the major ion densities throughout the torus is described. This description is required as input information for the Io oxygen and sulfur cloud models. In the radial interval from 4.9 to 5.4 Rj ion partitioning information is used to initially explore that impact of charge exchange reactions between the neutral gas clouds and the plasma torus ions. Because of the spatial distribution of torus ions, these reactions may be able to introduce a magnetic longitudinal effect in the plasma torus properties. Modeling efforts for the Io oxygen and sulfur clouds and for the sodium cloud data are also discussed

Io: Escape and ionization of atmospheric gases

Models for the Io oxygen clouds were improved to calculate the two dimensional sky plane intensity of the 1304 A emission and the 880 A emission of atomic oxygen, in addition to the 6300 A emission intensity. These three wavelength emissions are those for which observational measurements have been performed by ground based, rocket, Earth orbiting satellite and Voyager spacecraft instruments. Comparison of model results and observations suggests that an oxygen flux from Io of about 3 billion atoms sq cm sec is required for agreement. Quantitative analysis of the Io sodium cloud has focused upon the initial tasks of acquiring and preliminary evaluation of new sodium cloud and Io plasma torus data

Extended atmospheres of outer planet satellites and comets

An analysis of the extended atmospheres of outer planet satellites and comets is made. Primary emphasis is placed on cometary atmospheres because of the return of Comet P/Halley. As part of a collaborative effort with A.I.F. Stewart, observations of the hydrogen coma of Comet P/Giacobini-Zinner obtained from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter ultraviolet spectrometer (PVOUVS) were successfully analyzed at AER and are reported. In addition, significant pre-modeling and post-modeling activities to support and analyze the PVOUVS observations of Comet P/Halley successfully acquired in late 1985 and early 1986 are also discussed. Progress in model preparation for third-year analysis of the Voyager UVS Lyman-alpha brightness distribution emitted by hydrogen atoms in the Saturn system is also summarized

Extended atmospheres of outer planet satellites and comets

The new cometary hydrogen particle-trajectory model, completed last year, has been used successfully to analyze observations of Comet P/Giacobini-Zinner. The Pioneer Venus Orbiter Ultraviolet Spectrometer observed the comet at 1216 A (hydrogen Lyman-a) on 11 September 1985 when the comet was 1.03 AU from the Sun and 1.09 AU from Venus. The analysis implies a production rate at 1.03 AU 2.3 x 10 to the 28th power/sec of the water molecules which photodissociate to produce the observed hydrogen. An upper limit for the H2O production rate of Comet P/Halley of 5 x 10 to the 28th power/sec at 2.60 AU was also obtained from the Pioneer Venus instrument

A modeling analysis program for the JPL Table Mountain Io sodium cloud data

Progress and achievements in the second year are discussed in three main areas: (1) data quality review of the 1981 Region B/C images; (2) data processing activities; and (3) modeling activities. The data quality review revealed that almost all 1981 Region B/C images are of sufficient quality to be valuable in the analyses of the JPL data set. In the second area, the major milestone reached was the successful development and application of complex image-processing software required to render the original image data suitable for modeling analysis studies. In the third area, the lifetime description of sodium atoms in the planet magnetosphere was improved in the model to include the offset dipole nature of the magnetic field as well as an east-west electric field. These improvements are important in properly representing the basic morphology as well as the east-west asymmetries of the sodium cloud